Pages

Thursday, June 30, 2016

The Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF) 2016 opened last Friday in Duryu Park with a special opening ceremony featuring lots of performances by artists from around the world. The weather forecast wasn’t the most appealing but fortunately the rain stopped a few hours before the event began and gave us some amazing sunset skies.

I got there early to secure a seat in front of the stage. It was a good choice as the seats were quickly filled up and people had to watch from behind.Before the main show started, we were able to watch the performers doing their rehearsals and sound checks in their casual clothes.

Even the rehearsals had some amazing singing and live music.

Around Duryu Park had stalls set up selling tickets for DIMF, snacks and giving away free beer!

Before the professionals took the stage we were treated to performances by students from universities around Daegu. They gave some powerful solo and team performances of songs and parts of the well-known musicals Jesus Christ Superstar and 42nd Street. From seeing these short glimpses I would definitely recommend going to see some of the amateur performances during this festival.

As the performances continued, the nights sky took over the show for a few minutes as it started to look like a stunning pink and purple painting overhead.

The show continued with the professional performers giving spectacular renditions of songs from various well known musicals such as Cats, Les Miserables and Wicked to name a few.

There were songs in Korean, English, Chinese and even Japanese performed by artists from around the world. The production was top notch throughout, as you would expect for the 10th Annual DIMF.

The show ended with fireworks, literally, during the final performance of songs from Mamma Mia. Unfortunately the fireworks were behind the stage so I couldn’t see them from my seat but that didn’t take anything away from the amazing opening ceremony of the 10th DIMF.

BONUS: Some fans were making LED signs on their phones for the actors. I saw one that had me confused for a little while until I noticed the name of American actor. Her sign said, “작은빵!!”. Small bread??

The Daegu Daemyung Market is a fun and exciting place to visit.Not only does it offer many delicious foods, but it is also rich with Korean history, swarming with Korean natives of all ages, has a bountiful selection of shopping to browse from, and of course sells unique clothing, accessories, and knick-knacks. Daemyung market is one of Daegu's oldest and most history rich markets, with a lot of modern renovation and improvement to make it more accessable for younger people.

Daemyung market was made, in 1975 and it was a hang out place for a lot of Korea's college students to eat food between classes, such as hotteok, shrimp tempura, ddeokbokki, and odang, are some of the delicious Korean street foods you can try out. They are all freshly made, and well worth the buy! You can savor almost all of these "street delicacies" for less than 3,000 won each! If trying new foods is not your forte, you will always have traditional noodle soups available as your fallback.

Even if you choose not to buy anything from the street vendors, it is an experience to walk around and see what everyone has to offer! You will definitely be surprised with the assortment of items, fruits and vegitables you may not be able to pass up with some of their bargain prices!

Visiting a Korean market is an ideal way to truly immerse yourself in the culture of Korea. You will get a taste of the people, food, shops, streets, sights, and simply get a genuine feel of what it's like to be in Korea.The map above will give you an idea where it is, as you can see it is very close to the yellow line and is very easy to get to. For more information type in (대명시장) into google maps for detailed instructions on how to get there.- Bus : 순환 2-1, 달서2, 202-1, 400-1, 509, 650, 706, 836 / Get off at Daemyeong Market (대명시장)-Parking: There is a public parking lot only 50m away from the market

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

This years DIMF has lots of shows from around the world, most notably a production of Legally Blonde from the UK. It started out in America in 2007 and has had productions around America from Broadway, to the West End in London now here to Daegu. It is based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film starring Reece Witherspoon, about a sorority girl who manages to enrol in Harvard Law School to follow her love and win back her ex-boyfriend.

The venue for this musical is the Daegu Opera House. It is located close to HomePlus near Daegu Station. It is a 2 minute walk from HomePlus and maybe a 15 minute walk from Daegu Station.Outside the venue you can see the huge Legally Blonde and DIMF banners so you know that you have found the right place.

Outside the venue has a little exhibition showing flyers and posters from the previous festivals. There are also hand prints from some of the more famous actors that have participated in DIMF.

Inside the main doors to the right hand side you can find the ticket box where you can pick your tickets up. Just show the staff the ID card that you booked your tickets with and they will quickly pass you your tickets. Next to the ticket box is a vending machine with various cold drinks and as standard in most places in Korea, a free filtered water machine.

To the left side of the main entrance is a small café that sells tea and coffee. Refreshments can also be pre-ordered here for the interval where they will be ready and prepared for you when you come out of the auditorium during the break. Keep in mind that food and drink isn’t allowed into the auditorium.

There is also a cloakroom if you brought a bag that you don’t want to carry inside. There are lots of tiers of tickets and 4 floors in the Daegu Opera House. I chose the R tier of ticket and was very happy with my view, although it seemed as though most seats would be fine.

Since the production is from the UK all of the singing and dialogue is in English as you would expect. I wondered if all of the audience knew English enough to understand what was going on, but actually as you can see in the picture, to the left and right sides of the stage, there are small unobtrusive screens that show subtitles in Korean. I guess this would be the same for other productions that are in Korean but with English subtitles.The musical was really enjoyable and I definitely recommend going to see it if you have the chance. The acting, singing and dancing were all incredible. If you have seen and enjoyed the book or film you will definitely not regret seeing the musical too.

*BUYING TICKETS TIP*

For all the musicals in The 10th DIMF, foreigners can get 20% off all tickets (up to 4 tickets per person). Weirdly this is only advertised in Korean and you have to use the Korean version of the Interpark website. Your log in information for the international version of the site won’t work on the Korean version either, you have to make a new account to use it. When you get to choose your ticket price, choose the“global discount” (글로벌할인20%) option for the discount.

Location:

Date / Time:

Every day until Saturday 2nd of July 7:30PM

(with an additional matinee performance on Saturday 2nd of July at 3PM)

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

This Saturday (July 2, 2016) there is going to be a performance from the Daegu Boys and Girls Choir. The performance will be free and fun to watch. The boy and girls from the choir will be singing folk songs, pop songs and some jingles.

Sounds like a lot of fun. It is first come first serve, so don't be late it! The performance will start at 7:00 pm on the dot! This event will be held at the Daegu Cultural Arts Center.

If you have any questions call the following number: 053-606-6311/6348Check the map below to get an idea where it is. Type in (대구문화예술회관) in google maps to get better directions.

It’s nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city by finding respite in a nearby park. If you happen to be in Chilgok, then this second feature in our four part series on Daegu’s lakes and reservoirs is a must see. Unamji Park is nestled in between the mountains that form the eastern border of Chilgok.

Features:

Cool off by the water fountain during the summer heat.

Walk around the pond or hike up into Hamji mountain for amazing vistas of the mountain ridge and panoramic views of Chilgok.

Have a picnic in the pagoda and catch a soft breeze coming off of the pond.

Or even better, kick off your shoes and cool off in the stream.

Enjoy some outdoor tunes while watching the sunset.

There is an entrance to…

An open space and a playground to have fun!

Cafes and Restaurants: The street leading up to the pond is filled with restaurants. Many of them specializing in pork and rice soup (돼지국밥).

How to get there: Take the skytrain to Chilgok Unam Station. The lake is across from Unam Middle School. The walk from the station takes about 15-20 minutes, or a 5 minute taxi ride.

The four musicals above are DIMF’s representative shows. There are many other showings from different Korean teams, and performances from college performers. For more information check out “www.dimf.or.kr”

Starting June 18thuntil July 9th from 6 pm until 8 pm (Weekends and holidays 4 pm until 6 pm) In front of the Hanil Theater (next to H&M) you can purchase all of the DIMF tickets at 10,000KRW. However, there is a limited number of tickets every day and you can only get 2 tickets per person for each musical. So get your tickets early because they could be sold out very quickly.